Shuttle



1 May 17, 938. c. P. PARK 2,117,354

SHUTTLE original Filed sept. 19, 1936 ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 17, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE Original application September 19, 1936, Serial Divided and this application July 8, 1937, Serial N0. 152,553

4 Claims.

This invention pertains to weaving shuttles and relates more particularly to improved guiding and tensioningr means for a shuttle of the selfthreading type, the present application being a division of copending application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 101,630, filed September 19, 1936.

Uniformity of yarn tension is a very important desideratum for perfect weaving, but has been very difficult of attainment, at least without serious interference with easy and automatic threading, and particularly when Weaving wiry yarn or yarn which readily strands or. separates into a plurality of filaments, both of which characteristics are common to yarns of the cellulose derivative type, for example, the yarn commonly known as rayon.

A further diflculty experienced in weaving wiry or hard-twisted yarn by the use of a self-threading shuttle results from the tendency of such yarn to kink adjacent to the delivery eye of the shuttle, and in so kinking to twist and writhe in such a way as to escape from the shuttle eye.

Principal objects of the present invention are to provide self-threading tensioning and guiding means capable of exerting a substantially uniform and predetermined tension upon the yarn during both forward and reverse picks of the shuttle; to provide ready and accurate means for adjusting the degree of tension imposed upon the yarn and for maintaining the selected tension indefinitely; to provide the tension means such that easy and certain self-threading is assured; to provide a delivery eye and associated parts such A n, as to insure accurate entry of the yarn into the U0 delivery grooves in the outer surfaces of the shuttle; to provide a wear-resistant delivery eye readily capable of replacement if broken or worn; and to provide improved means for securing the yarn guiding and tensioning block in the shuttle body without danger of affecting the predetermined yarn tension.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made manifest in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front side elevation of a weaving shuttle equipped with the improved guiding and tensioning means,-the shuttle being viewed from the side at which the delivery eye is located;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the improved yarn guide block removed from the shuttle body;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the block shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the tensioning block viewed from its forward end;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5 and indicating the path of the yarn in broken lines;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary section on the line 'I-l of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 8 8 of Fig. 4;

Figs. 9, l0 and 11 are fragmentary side elevations of the tensioning block, to substantially the same scale as Fig. 8, illustrating various improved means for maintaining the adjustment of the tension;

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the tensioning screw of the device of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an end elevation illustrating the tensioning screw of the device of Figs. 9 and 10.

Fig, 14 is a side elevation of the yarn guide H eye piece removed from the guide block;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line I5-I5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary section through the shuttle, substantially on the line I6-I6 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates a weaving shuttle, of the type commonly used in automatic looms, provided at its front end with a metal tip 2 in the usual way. The shuttle body is provided with a chamber 3 (Fig. 2) for the reception of the bobbin 4,-such chamber having a forward extension 5 for the reception of the thread guide block 6. This block may be of metal or any other suitable material commonly employed for the purpose,-the present invention being particularly concerned with improvements in this block and associated parts.

The front face l of the shuttle body is provided with the usual longitudinally extending shallow thread groove 8 (Fig. 1), having a forward extension comprising the parts 9 and 9a, said extension of the groove intersecting a laterally directed portion 5Et of the chamber 5.

The block 6 has a substantially fiat bottom surface I0 which normally seats upon the floor of the chamber 5 of the shuttle body, such block having the spaced side walls II and I2 (Fig. 8) between which is a longitudinally extending portion I3 of the yarn guide passage. Near the entrance end of this passage a transverse pin or stud I4 extends from one wall to the other ofthe block. Preferably this stud or pin is provided with an externally screw-threaded head I5 which engages a threaded bore in the side wall of the block (Fig.

8). This pin or stud I4 forms a support for a pair of tension plates I6 and I'I respectively, which are disposed face to face in a substantially vertical position, similarly to the tension plates disclosed in the patent to Comisky No. 1,387,837, dated May 24, 1921, for example, said tension plates having openings through which the stud i4 passes loosely. The upper ends of the plates l5 and I'I are bent outwardly substantially at right angles to the body portions of these plates, as shown at I6a for example, and the outer end portions of these parts I 5a are furnished with downwardly directed wings Ib forming guide elements. These guide elements are arranged -to slide loosely in wear-resistant bushings IIa in openings in the side walls II and I2, respectively, of the block. The tension plates are thus free to move toward and from each other but at the same time are prevented from tilting excessively.

A coiled compression spring i5) bears against the left-hand surface (Fig. 8) of the plate l5, its outer end bearing against a screw-threaded stud 20 received in an opening in the wall li of the block. Preferably the spring I9 bears against the plate I5 at a point about midway of the height of the latter, preferably slightly below where the projected axis of the bobbin would intersect the plate. A similar spring 2i bears against the right-hand or outer face of the plate I'I at a point opposite to the spring i3. The outer end of the spring 2l is received in an axial pocket in a screw-threaded stud 22 engaging a screwthreaded opening in the wall l2 of the block. Preferably this stud 22 is provided with a polygonal socket 23 for the reception of a wrench by means of which it may be turned, thereby to vary the resilient pressure exerted by the spring 2l against the plate I'I, so as to adjust the tension upon the yarn which passes between the tension plates.

Preferably means is provided to retain the adjusting stud 22 in place after it has once been adjusted, so that the tension will not accidentally vary during the operation of the shuttle, in spite of the violent shocks to which the shuttle is subjected. For this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 10 and 13, the screw-threaded peripheral surface of the stud 22 may be provided with flat surfaces or facets 24, preferably disposed symmetrically, as shown in Fig. 13. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 10, a flat bow spring 24a is disposed within a horizontal bore 25 in the thickness of the wall I2 of the block, said bore intersecting the threaded opening which receives the stud 22, so that the central portion of the spring ZllEL resiliently bears upon the peripheral surface of the stud-normally contacting one of the facets 24 and thus holding the stud in adjusted position, although permitting it to be turned when suflicient force is applied by means of a wrench.

In Fig. 9 a slight modication is illustrated, wherein the spring 24a, instead of being mounted in a bore in the block, is arranged in a horizontal slot or recess 25a in the outer surface of the wall I2 of the block.

A further modication of the tension-retaining means is illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. In this instance the stud 22ad is furnished with spaced peripheral V notches 24h, while the block is provided with a spring 2li seated in a recess 21 in the rear edge of the wall l2, the spring being iixed in position at its lower end and having a tooth member 28 at its upper end which may engage any one of the notches 24b of the stud, thereby to hold the stud in adjusted position.

The block is furnished with a substantially horizontal guide pin 252 (Fig. 6) in the longitudinal portion I3 of the yarn passage and preferably at a point just forward of the tension plates I6 and I'I, the pin 2Q being at such an elevation that the projected axis of the bobbin lies substantially tangent to its upper surface. The block is also furnished with a substantially vertical guide pin 30, which deiines the junction between the longitudinal portion I3 of the thread passage and a transverse portion of said passage which leads to the thread delivery eye. The pins 23 and 30 may be of porcelain or any other suitable wearresistant material.

The block 5 has a lateral extension Ge which is disposed in the extension 5 of the chamber 5, such extension te having an outer vertical face 5b which is substantially flush with the forward face 'I of the shuttle body. This extension is furnished with a horizontal channel 3l, whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the corresponding walls of the groove 9, ila of the shuttle body. The extension Se is provided with a vertical socket S (Fig. 15) which intersects the upper and lower walls of the channel 3i, and which is designed to receive an eyepiece 32 (Fig. 7). This eye-piece (Fig. 14.-) may be of porcelain, hardened alloy steel, nitrided steel, or the like, of a wear-resistant character, and has the yarn delivery eye 33, the axis of which is perpendicular to the axis or" the shuttle and substantially tangent to that point of the guide post Sil at which the yarn Y leaves said post on its way to the delivery eye. The eyepiece 32 has a lower surface 34 (Fig. 14e) which normally rests against the floor of the chamber 5 of the shuttle when the block 6 is positioned within the chamber 5. However, the eyepiece 32 is freely removable from the block 6 when the latter is removed from the shuttle, and thus the eyepiece may readily be replaced if worn or broken, or if it be desired to substitute a block of different material or one having a delivery eye of different size or shape.

The eyepiece is furnished with a substantially vertical threading slot 35 at its lower part, one side of said slot being deiined by the curved horn-like portion 36 of the eyepiece, such hornlike portion having an outer curved guiding face 3l. The parts are so dimensioned that when the eyepiece is disposed in the socket in the block, the tip of the horn 36 is disposed below the lower wall 38 of the channel 3l (Fig. 4). AS illustrated in Fig. 15, that part of the socket S which intersects the lower wall 38 of channel 3| receives the eyepiece, is beveled and widened at its forward end, as indicated at 39 in Fig. 15, so as to form a yarn-receiving clearance between the wall of the socket and the tip of horn 36, thereby to permit the yarn, in following the curved surface 3l, to snap beneath the tip of the horn and then to move up through the slot 35 into the eye 33. However, it will be noted that when the thread has once entered the eye 33, it is substantially impossible for it to escape from said eye by moving in a downward direction, since the lower wall surface 3B of the channel 3l lies above the tip of the horn, and since there is no guide surface leading from the eye 33 which would assist the yarn in moving downwardly and out from beneath the tip of the horn. Thus no matter how much the yarn may kink or writhe during the operation or the shuttle, it is substantially impossible for it to escape from the shuttle eye, although, in threading, the yarn easily enters the eye.

The block 6 is provided with the usual forwardly directed guard member 40 and with the beak 4l having the narrow tip 42 which underlies the guard 40. The under surface of the beak 4l is smoothly finished and extends downwardly and laterally from the tip 42 toward the curved guide surface 31 of the eyepiece 32. As illustrated, this beak 4| is wholly devoid of any downwardly directed projections, horns or other elements to impede the yarn in its downward and lateral movement.

In threading, during the first pick of the shuttle, which is to the left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the yarn being held at its free extremity is drawn downwardly into the longitudinal portion I3 of the thread passage, it being noted that this slot is freely open throughout its length, and that the surfaces 44 and 45 at the opposite sides of this slot are smoothly sloped so as to guide the yarn toward the open entrance to the passage as it is drawn taut lengthwise of the shuttle. It may further be noted that the entrance of the yarn between the tension plates I6 and I1 is facilitated by the outward curvature of these plates where they merge with the parts Iiia so that upon this rst pick the yarn is with certainty laid into the longitudinal portion of the passage and enters between the tension plates, where it is supported by the guide pin 29. Normally, near the end of this pick, the yarn snaps down beneath the guard 40 and under the tip 42 of the beak 4|. Upon the second pick, when the shuttle moves to the right (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2) the yarn swings laterally and slides easily down along the under surface 43 of the beak, and, meeting no obstruction whatever, quickly contacts with the outer curved surface of the horn 31 and is guided by the latter so as to pass the tip of the horn and enter the slot 35 and the eye 33, being now drawn around the post 30.

Since the axis of the guide eye 33 is substantially tangent to that point of the post 30 at which the yarn leaves the latter, and is also perpendicular to the axis of the shuttle, and since the axis of the guide eye 33 is also substantially midway between the upper and lower walls of the channel 3l, it is evident that as the shuttle is picked back and forth, the yarn which emerges from the guide eye leads away from the shuttle at the same angle whether the shuttle be moving in one direction or the other. Thus the tension devices are subjected to substantially the same resistance to movement of the yarn, whether the shuttle be moving in one direction or the other, and thus it is possible to obtain a more constant tension and more even weaving than is usually the case.

In order to hold the block 6 in position, but without aiecting the tension after the latter has once been adjusted, it is preferred to employ the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 16. As thus shown, the block 6 is furnished with a transverse screw-threaded opening for the reception of the screw-threaded shank portion 46 of a retaining screw having a screw-threaded head portion 4T of larger diameter than the shank portion 46 but preferably threaded with the same pitch thread as the latter. This threaded head portion 41 engages a screw-threaded bore in the body l of the shuttle, but the opposite end 48 of the screw freely enters an unthreaded bore of the shuttle body. The screw is of a length less than the thickness of the shuttle so that the screw does not project through to the forward face of the shuttle. With this arrangement, no matter how hard the screw may be set up, it does not tend to draw together the side walls of the shuttle body and thereby pinch the guide block so as to change the setting of the tension devices carried by the latter. It has been found that in prior constructions, where the screw for holding the block in position extends all of the way through the shuttle body, and is provided with means such as a nut, for tightening it, the wood of the shuttle is so squeezed against the guide block as to change the setting of the tension. 'I'he present invention avoids any such action.

With my arrangement it is thus possible to adjust `the tension Very delicately, as by means of the screw-threaded stud 22, with the assurance that the tension thus once set will not be varied either by reason of the sharp blows and shocks to which the shuttle is subjected during use, or by any manipulations necessary for xing the block within the shuttle body. It should further be noted that since the screw which holds the block in position does not extend through the forward face of the shuttle, the latter is left smooth and unbroken and there is no danger that the yarn will be caught or abraded by contact with the end of the screw or by rubbing across the end of an open bore in the shuttle body.

In practice it has been found that the improved guide block with its associated parts permits yarn to be entered into the delivery eye with the greatest ease and certainty so that proper threading of the shuttle is substantially assured after the second pick. It has further been found that with this arrangement rayon or similar yarns of a very slippery and wiry nature, may readily be woven and the tension maintained very accurately even without recourse to the fur tension which has commonly been thought necessary to use in weaving yarns of this character. It has further been found that even in weaving such wiry yarns as those above noted and which tend to kink and writhe in the shuttle eye, there is substantially no possibility of unthreading of the shuttle accidentally by reason of such action of the yarn, while, as above noted, the symmetrical delivery of the yarn to and from the shuttle eye assists in maintaining a uniform tension. Moreover, the eyepiece may easily be removed and replaced when desired merely by removing the block from the shuttle body,-permitting the eye to drop from the block, and then reinserting the new eye from the bottom of the block, all Without the necessity of using tools or special instruments designed for the purpose.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by Way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, but that all equivalents are to be regarded as` falling within the purview of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A yarn guide block of the kind which in use is seated Within a chamber in a shuttle body with its vertical walls engaging the walls of the chamber, and which has therein yarn tension means, including a tensioning spring and a screw which engages a threaded bore in the block and by means of which the pressure exerted by the spring may be varied, and having detent means which engages the periphery of the screw, thereby always to oppose turning of the screw but which allows the screw to be turned when sulcient force is applied, characterized in that the block has a detent receiving cavity within its substance and so located as to be closed and concealed by the wall of the shuttle chamber when the blocl; is in operative position in the chamber, the detent being disposed within said cavity and Wholly Within the substance of the block.

2. In a yarn guiding block of the kind which in use is seated within a chamber in a shuttle body with its vertical walls in contact with the walls of the chamber, and which has yarn tension means comprising a pair of relatively movable yarn tension plates, a spring for yieldingly urging one of said plates toward the other, a screw for varying the pressure exerted by the spring, the screw engaging a threaded bore in the block, and detent means operative to oppose turning of the screw but which allows the screw tol be turned in either direction when suiicient force is applied, characterized in that the block has a detent receiving cavity which opens at the outer vertical surface of the block at a point such that the entrance to the cavity is closed by the wall of the bobbin chamber when the block is operatively seated in said chamber, and in that the detent means consists of a single resilient part.

3. A yarn guide block of the kind which when in use is seated within a chamber in a shuttle body with its vertical walls substantially in contact with the walls of the chamber, and which has therein yarn tension means including a tensioning spring and a screw which engages a threaded bore in the block for varying the pressure exerted by the spring, and having detent means which engages the periphery of the screw, thereby at all times to oppose turning of the screw, but which allows the screw to be tiuned when sufficient force is applied, characterized in that the block has a detent receiving cavity which opens at a rearwardly directed surface of the block, such surface abutting a wall oi the chamber in the shuttle body when the block is seated in said chamber, the entrance to said cavity in the block being concealed when the block is in operative position, the detent means consisting of a single unitary resilient element Who1- ly disposed within said cavity.

4. A yarn guide block of the kind which when in use is seated within a chamber in a shuttle body with its vertical walls substantially in contact with the. walls of the chamber, and which has therein yarn tension means comprising a pair of relatively movable yarn tension plates, a spring for yieldingly urging one of said plates toward the other, a screw for varying the pressure exerted by the spring, said screw engaging a threaded bore in the block, characterized in that the block has a detent receiving cavity which opens at one of the vertical surfaces of the block which abuts a wall of the chamber in the shuttle when the block is seated therein, whereby the entrance to said cavity is closed by the wall of the chamber, the detent being a bowed spring having its central portion so disposed as resiliently to engage the periphery of the screw.

CARL P. PARK. 

